New York, NY: NYC Health + Hospitals announced that its Street Health Outreach & Wellness (SHOW) mobile program was named a finalist in the University of California, San Francisco Health Hub Digital Health Awards competition. SHOW was recognized as Best in Class in the New Telehealth Innovation category for its groundbreaking work bringing medical and social resources to thousands of New Yorkers, with a focus on people experiencing homelessness. To date, the SHOW team has performed over 177,000 unique engagements with New Yorkers, providing over 84,700 COVID-19 tests, 18,500 medical consultations, 8,200 vaccinations and more than 53,000 social work engagements.
“When we talk about meeting people where they are, we mean it,” said New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “We know that this work takes sustained, thoughtful engagements with people experiencing homelessness and the SHOW model has given us a powerful tool in that effort.”
“NYC Health +Hospitals’ SHOW program truly delivers on the City’s commitment to connect vulnerable New Yorkers to critical healthcare supports by actually meeting them where they are,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Gary P. Jenkins.
Launched in April 2021, the Street Health Outreach + Wellness (SHOW) program deploys a fleet of eight mobile health units across New York City to meet people historically disconnected from a continuum of care where they are, engage them, and invite them in for care without pre-scheduled appointments, cost, or other barriers. In addition to offering vaccinations and no-cost COVID-19 and flu testing, patients are assessed for other needed care, including physical and mental health screenings and harm reduction services.
SHOW’s community-based mobile clinics are paired with roving medical teams comprised of an advanced practice provider (APP), paramedic, and social worker. These teams walk block by block to offer vaccinations, wound care, harm reduction resources, and other services to those living on the street, often in locations only accessible on foot like parks and subways.
This Spring, SHOW launched a Buprenorphine Treatment Pathway to connect New Yorkers struggling with opioid addiction to medication-assisted buprenorphine treatment through NYC Health + Hospitals’ Virtual Express Care Behavioral Health platform. The initiative has further expanded the options SHOW offers to provide comprehensive care for patients with Opioid Use Disorder.
